Beyond This Broken Barrier
by ScarletBloodWolf
Summary: Even if her heart and soul shattered into miniscule fragments, she would be here. If staying could save him, she would gladly deal with this heartbreak, if only for the chance to see him smile once more.


**Title**: Beyond This Broken Barrier**  
Characters**: Ichigo, Rukia**  
Summary**: If staying could save him, she would gladly deal with this heartbreak, if only for the chance to see him smile once more.**  
Pairings**: IchiRuki**  
Rating**: T (Just because this could be considered dark and depressing…)**  
Genres**: Angst/Romance**  
Warnings/Spoilers**: Spoilers for Chapter 423. You who don't read manga, be warned.**  
Timeline**: Post-423, during time skip**  
Author's Note**: Yeah, it's depressing…Hey, what'do you expect? It's 12:30, and I haven't had sleep for at LEAST 30 hours. And I absolutely LOVE writing this pairing… IchiHime shippers, you have been warned.**  
Word Count**: 550**  
Disclaimer**: I own nothing! Not this computer! Not the couch on which I sleep! And sadly, not Bleach. If I did, do you think I'd be typing on a computer that's not mine, and sleeping on a couch? No, thought not.

Emptiness.

Utter loneliness.

Pure, crushing blackness.

Slowly, he begins to realize that things exist in this void, small things, insignificant next to the pain radiating from his heart. His light amber eyes, once so warm and bright, filled with life, are now cold and lifeless, like a moon without a planet to orbit. Devoid of meaning.

Ichigo figures if he wanted, he could leave this place; forget about this numbing darkness, this blinding heartbreak. But for some reason, he can't bring himself to leave. He knew what existed beyond this place, where at least a small ray of light shone. He had been beyond here before. And he knew that beyond here was only night. The pure, unending shade that never broke for dawn. That eternal desert that was more death than life.

By the faint light that filled this small place, Ichigo could see a long wall; a mirror, extending in one line, going on deep into the darkness so the ends were lost to the pure ebony shadows. And somehow, Ichigo knew this was what kept him here in the place, kept him from being lost for eternity in the black desert. Whether it was because this long mirror, this sheet of thick, silver-coated glass, was the only thing in this darkness, or because of what stood on the other side of this reflective barrier, Ichigo knew not. But he was drawn to it, as surely as two magnets with opposite poles are drawn to each other, or a human drawn to the gravity of the Earth.

Slowly, hesitantly, the orange-haired teenager walked forward, towards his perfect reflection in the glass. One tan, long-fingered hand reached towards the mirror, fingertips brushing the image on the cool surface. The once great Substitute Soul Reaper stood in front of his reflection, one arm hanging limply by his side, the other extended, touching the reflection that showed him not as he is, but as he once was.

Amber eyes were bright and warm, not dulled with grief. Tan skin shown healthily from underneath heavy black garments that showed his rank, instead of dimmed by the unhealthy pallor brought on by sleepless nights. Angular features split in a wide grin that lit his entire figure, making him shine with a light that radiated genuine joy, as opposed to grim, helpless features that spoke of unimaginable sadness and loss.

And on the other side of the trick mirror, one arm raised in a mirror image of the boy she had met so long ago, of the man she had fallen in love with, Rukia wept in silence, silver tears streaming down her pale, porcelain features. To see Ichigo so utterly defeated, so completely devoid of the seemingly endless energy he had possessed before, sparked a fire in Rukia's chest, a raging, burning flame that broke her fragile heart.

But as long as he stayed in the light, as long as he refused to forget, to move on, Rukia would stand here with him.

Even if her heart and soul shattered into miniscule fragments, she would be here. Ichigo had saved her, in more than one form.

If staying could save him, she would gladly deal with this heartbreak, if only for the chance to see him smile once more.


End file.
